Throes
by Scealai
Summary: **COMPLETE**Throe: a hard or painful struggle; Years in the future, Lex and Clark explore the rift that destroyed their friendship. Lex/Chloe relationship.
1. In the Present

Title: Throes  
Author: Scealai  
Rating: R  
Summary: Years in the future, Lex and Clark explore the rift that   
destroyed their friendship.  
Disclaimer: The characters of Smallville belong to Alfred Gough & Miles  
Millar who based them on the DC comics characters created  
by Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster. The series is produced  
by the WB & Tollin/Robbins Productions.  
Spoilers: It's best to keep current with the series because I tend to  
use details from the show to add authenticity and   
background. In this part events are referred to from   
'Hourglass.'  
Distribution: Please ask, I usually say yes.   
Author's Note: This story is totally AU since my only real experience  
with 'Superman' is through Smallville and the movies.  
The events of this story will have nothing to do with  
the way the Superman/Lex Luthor relationship has played  
out in the comics or in the movies, it's my   
interpretation of future events based on things that   
have happened in the tv show.  
***********************************************************************  
  
Throe: a hard or painful struggle  
  
*****  
In the Present  
  
It was a beautiful night. It always seemed to be a beautiful night  
with the moon a perfect quarter slice and the stars littering the sky  
like glitter on a child's craft project. It was always cold. Or maybe  
that was just the way he chose to always remember it. Clark parked   
his car on the side of the road behind the Porsche and got out. He   
would walk the rest of the way. He never flew here on this day nor did  
he ever use his superspeed. It would have been wrong.  
  
As always Lex stood alone in front of the grave. He wore a dark suit  
and a dark shirt. The only color - such as it was - was the moonlight  
that reflected off his bald pate. He stood as still and as cold as the  
gravestones that surrounded him. Clark briefly flashed on the vision  
of him enclosed by the graves of his family and friends that Cassandra  
had shown him. That invariably happened, so the vision had lost most  
of its shock value, but it always made him wonder if this was what it  
had foreshadowed all those years ago. Clark took his place at Lex's  
side, but said nothing. They never spoke on this day, at this place.  
  
Chloe Sullivan Luthor. Loved Forever. Never Alone. Clark had never  
understood the significance of the words Lex had chosen to grace   
Chloe's tombstone. His mother had told him that Lex had smashed the   
first one because the words 'Rest in Peace' had been added. Of course,  
Clark never asked Lex to explain. He never asked Lex how he felt.  
He never asked what Lex thought about while they silently stood there.  
The way her eyes sparkled when she smiled or how her head would tilt   
and she would chew on her lip as she considered what she had just   
written on the computer. As her husband, Lex would have had other  
memories of Chloe that Clark wouldn't know of, but he tried not to  
dwell on that.  
  
For ten years, no matter what was happening between them, no matter how  
intense their animosity, Lex Luthor and Clark Kent would meet at   
Chloe's grave on the anniversary of her death. There were no harsh  
words or violent outbursts. For that one night everything was tabled  
as they grieved for the woman who had been such a big part of their  
lives. The woman who had changed everything. Once they had been   
friends, now they were mortal enemies. It was about to change again.  
  
"Is this better?" Lex broke the tradition of silence. He didn't turn  
his head to look at the man beside him. "Was I really so bad for her  
that this is better?" Lex's jaw tightened and he stared at the cold,  
hard ground. He had wanted to ask that question of Clark for so   
long. It was time to hear the answer.  
  
Continued.... 


	2. In the Past

In the Past  
  
Lex Luthor loathed lectures. Lex allowed his lips to twitch a ghost of  
a smirk at the alliteration that drifted through his mind before  
turning from the blackboard to face the class. Another 'hoop' his  
father had created for his son to jump through - as well as a  
demonstration to the masses that Luthors were not the devil in   
disguise - guest lecturing at Metropolis University was tedious at   
best. The only saving grace was the pretty co-eds that attended his   
lectures.  
  
"That's all I have today, so I guess I'll be turning the class back   
over to Professor Montgomery next week." There were a few feminine  
sighs of disappointment and Lex made certain to note the direction they  
came from. Now that his lecture series was over, there was no reason  
why he couldn't pursue a sexual relationship with one of his   
'students.'  
  
"I thought it was against the Billionaire Mogul Code to give out trade  
secrets." The female voice behind him triggered Lex's memory.   
Smallville. He turned and smiled. "You know I don't tell my secrets  
to anyone, Chloe Sullivan. So, why don't you tell me what a reporter  
is doing in a business class?" He sat down on the edge of the desk.  
She hadn't changed much in the three years since he had seen her last,  
her hair was a little longer and tucked behind her ears. He had no   
idea why he hadn't noticed her in class. She was beautiful.  
  
"Well, if I want to run my own paper someday, I'll need to know how to  
do it." Chloe smiled and her gaze darted toward the bevy of women   
waiting to catch Lex's attention. She held out her hand. "Buy me a  
cup of coffee and we'll catch up on old times."  
  
To refuse was out of the question. Lex took Chloe's hand and led her  
out of the classroom without a second thought to the other students  
who were there to offer their comments on his lectures or offer other  
things. He hadn't seen Chloe Sullivan in ages and he was strangely  
invigorated by her renewed presence in his life. Back in Smallville,  
he had flirted with her a bit. She had never giggled, blushed, or  
tittered instead she had flirted back in an easy, sardonic manner. It  
had never gone beyond a casual dalliance then, but she was older now.  
He couldn't give up the opportunity to see where their past flirtation  
would lead them.  
  
*****  
  
"You weren't taking that class. I would have noticed you." Lex had  
come to that conclusion on the short walk to the campus coffee shop.  
He decided it would be interesting to confront Chloe with it right  
away.  
  
"I'm flattered." Chloe took a sip of her coffee, not at all upset  
with Lex's confrontational attitude. "One of the girls in my dorm was  
rhapsodizing over your lecture style - actually it was more about you  
than your lectures - I had to check it out for myself. The Lex Luthor  
imparting his sage advice. You are good."  
  
"Now I'm flattered." Lex took a moment to study Chloe. She had  
matured with the confidence of a woman - she wasn't uncomfortable   
under his scrutiny - but she still retained the impulsive and   
sparkling personality she had as a girl.   
  
"Why don't you just ask me and get it over with?"  
  
"How is Clark?" The question actually hadn't occurred to Lex until she  
had brought it up. He had been too focused on Chloe. But now that it  
was out there, he really did want to know. In fact, given the   
circumstances, Lex was surprised that Chloe had even sought him out.  
  
"He's fine. We're both taking journalism here and staying in the  
dorms. He doesn't like to talk about you. Changes the subject every  
time you're mentioned." This time it was Chloe's turn to stare and  
Lex met her gaze as evenly as she had his.  
  
"And Lana?"  
  
"Still in Smallville. She's getting married - the really nasty people  
will tell you it's because she's pregnant, but she's not. I smacked  
the last person who tried to pass that bit of gossip on to me."   
Chloe's lips pressed into a disproving line and Lex felt a sudden  
desire to kiss them back into a soft pout. He loved it when she was  
defending something or someone she believed in. Lex leaned across the  
small table between them and went with his impulse.  
  
*****  
  
Space was a luxury for most people. Lex had always had space. Hell,   
after the meteor accident, he had a whole damn wing all to himself.  
His mother had visited him a few times, but his father had been afraid  
that Lex would contaminate her and had her kept away from him. So, Lex  
didn't exactly view it as a hardship to be curled up with Chloe in   
the single bed her dorm room provided. The sex had been incredible.   
There had been others before him, he hadn't been her first lover. It  
didn't matter, Lex fully intended to be her last. Idly, he rubbed  
her arm, which was thrown across his waist, and wondered if Clark was  
on the list of her past lovers. If he was, then Chloe would have   
memories of their lovemaking, and if he wasn't, then she would still  
have the fantasies her girlhood crush had created. Either way, Lex  
really didn't want to know.  
  
A movement caught his attention and Lex looked down at Chloe. Her head  
was pillowed on his chest and she had tilted it up to look at him.  
"What are you thinking?"  
  
Lex smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "That if this is  
what happens after coffee, I really have to take you to dinner."  
  
Chloe laughed. "You'll be disappointed. After dinner, it's just a  
firm handshake and a peck on the cheek. Coffee is so much more   
important than food on the Chloe Hierarchy of Needs." She propped   
her self up to look down at Lex. Her expression softened and she  
caressed his cheek. "Although sex with you might be giving coffee  
some serious competition." She leaned down and kissed him. Just a   
soft touch of her lips which neither of them deepened.  
  
Once they broke away, Lex cupped her face to keep her gaze locked with  
his. "I'll take my chances then. Chloe, will you go out to dinner  
with me tomorrow night?"  
  
"Why did you kiss me back in the coffee shop?" Chloe asked instead of  
answering Lex's question.  
  
"I wanted to." Lex coiled a strand of her hair around his fingers. He  
wasn't used to explaining his actions. "You looked so fierce   
defending Lana and so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you a lot of times  
back in Smallville, but you were just a teenager then."  
  
"Isn't it wonderful how the age gap decreases when both people are in  
their twenties?" Chloe seemed pleased with his answer. He had been   
afraid that she would be disturbed by his previous attraction to   
her, especially considering what had happened between he, Lana, and   
Clark. "I would love to go out with you tomorrow night, Lex. Where   
are we going?"  
  
"It's a surprise." Lex rolled them over so he was on top. He licked  
the curve of her neck, tasting the slightly salty residue of sweat on  
her skin from their earlier exertion. Chloe moaned and shifted  
beneath him, pulling him closer. Her hands traveled down his back.  
Things were just starting to heat up when his cell phone rang. "Ignore  
it," he murmured before capturing Chloe's mouth. Then it hit him.  
"Shit. I have a meeting this afternoon." Lex broke away from Chloe's  
embrace and dug around the floor for his phone. He glanced at his  
watch and then at the digital display on the phone. "It's my father."  
  
"You better answer it then." Chloe clambered across the bed and got   
up to get dressed. She slipped on some underwear and did up her bra.  
"I have to meet Clark at the library anyway." As she passed by Lex to  
pick up her shirt, she paused to give him a quick kiss, but he grabbed  
her and pulled her down onto the bed. He devoured her mouth hungrily,  
his tongued plundering and claiming her until they were both   
breathless. "Your father?" Chloe gasped. The phone rang for the   
fifth time.  
  
"He'll get my voicemail." Lex wished he could stay here and kiss  
Chloe all afternoon, make love to her again, but the meeting was really  
important. His father was going to be pissed as it was that he had  
missed their 'strategy' session. "Are you going to tell Clark?"  
  
"That I saw you today, yes, and that we're going out to dinner  
tomorrow night. I think our 'nooner' might be a bit too much  
information though." Chloe pulled on her shirt. "He's going to flip  
as it is."  
  
"Optimism is an admirable quality." Lex was pretty sure that his  
former friend would do everything in his power to make sure that Chloe  
never saw him again.  
  
*****  
  
It wasn't like Chloe to be late. Clark frowned at the clock, as if it  
was responsible for the absence of his best friend. He should go look  
for her at her dorm. Maybe she was held up by that air head Rachel and  
needed rescuing.  
  
"I'm here. I'm here." Chloe's voice stopped Clark from rising out of  
his chair any further so he sat back down. She chucked her book bag  
onto the table and brushed her hair out of her eyes as she sat down   
beside him. "Sorry, I'm late. I ran into an old friend."  
  
"Pete? Isn't he supposed to be in Michigan?" Chloe was nervous about  
something. Clark could tell by the way she twisted her fingers as she  
talked.  
  
"My social circle does consist of more than just you and Pete, Clark."  
Chloe gave him her annoyed look and tucked some stray strands of hair  
behind her ears. "There's Felicia in my dorm and Roxy from Yoga class  
and Lana and...Lex."  
  
"Lex Luthor? You aren't seriously saying that you're late because you  
were with Lex Luthor?" Clark's normally warm and open face closed off  
and went cold.  
  
"We had coffee." Chloe started to chew her lip and her eyes stared at  
a point about his head. She was going to omit the truth. Chloe very  
rarely lied to him, but sometimes she didn't tell him everything.   
"And we're going out to dinner tomorrow night."  
  
Clark shook his head. "No. You can't do that. You can't go out on  
a date with Lex."  
  
"Yes, I can. And I'm going to." Chloe moved her book bag to the floor  
so there was nothing between her and Clark. "Look, I know you have a  
problem with Lex...."  
  
"He took advantage of Lana! He'll take advantage of you too." Clark's  
raised voice attracted a few curious glances from the students around  
them. He immediately lowered his tone. "You can't trust him, Chloe."  
  
"It was just a kiss, Clark, and you know damn well that Nell set it  
up. She wanted Lana secure in the Luthor Mansion, not living on some  
farm with you." Chloe scowled. "Lana was vulnerable after Whitney   
cheated on her and Nell knew that. She's the one who took advantage."  
  
"That's Lana's excuse for what happened." Clark stood up. "What's  
Lex's? Why don't you ask him that on your date?" He stalked out of  
the library, too angry to think straight. It was happening again. Lex  
Luthor was insinuating himself into his life and he was using Chloe to  
do it. He would charm her and get her to trust him, like he did with  
Lana, and then he would hurt her. Well, it wasn't going to happen this  
time. Clark would stop Lex from hurting Chloe even if she ended up   
hating him. Anything was better for Chloe than Lex Luthor.  
  
Continued.... 


	3. Now

Now  
  
A cold blast of wind gusted through the cemetery, rattling the dead  
leaves that still clung to the trees and sending the majority of them  
skittering down to mingle with the dry brown grass. Out of the corner  
of his eye, Clark could see Lex's rigid profile. He was waiting for an  
answer. It was easy enough to give, over the years Clark had thought  
about it many times. Would Chloe want to see this? To bear witness to  
what he and Lex had become?  
  
"After all the things you've done, all the lives you've destroyed in   
the pursuit of power and money, you still have to ask that question?"  
Clark gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He wouldn't fight  
here, at least not physically, it would be an insult to Chloe's memory.  
She had tried so hard to mend their ruptured friendship.  
  
"It would be different if Chloe were still here. If she was alive, I  
would have something else to live for." Her smile, her laugh, the way  
her eyes darkened with desire and her skin flushed when he touched her.  
Lex had lived for all those things. Now he lived for nothing except  
hate.  
  
Clark snorted in derision. "That's an awful lot of responsibility to  
put on one person. It's also a poor excuse." Clark turned and glared  
at Lex. "Chloe couldn't change who you are. You're selfish, greedy,  
and an evil, manipulative bastard. You couldn't have hid that from  
Chloe forever and the truth would have hurt her just like it has hurt   
your other wives."  
  
"I never hurt Chloe. The only one who ever hurt her was you." Lex's  
accusing gaze pierced through Clark like shards of ice. "You ignored  
her feelings for you when you were both in highschool. Openly panting  
after Lana Lang without a second thought about how much pain it caused  
your best friend. And then, when she was finally happy, you   
condemned her for it and turned your back on her."  
  
"No." Clark shook his head. "No. I never turned my back on her. I   
loved Chloe. She was my best friend and no one could replace her."  
  
It was Lex's turn to snort. "And what do you call Lois Lane? She's a  
cheap imitation of Chloe, a pathetic clone you use to enact the life  
you think Chloe should have led with you."  
  
"You're one to talk. If you loved Chloe so much and her death   
devastated you so badly, how do you explain the four failed marriages  
after her? And what about number six? Isn't that happening in a few  
days? Are you trying to find Chloe again in one of them?"  
  
"My ex-wives and current wife-to-be are nothing like Chloe." Lex   
turned back to stare at the headstone. It wasn't exactly true. His  
second wife, Laurissa, had been a bit like Chloe. She had been sweet  
and intelligent and she had loved him. Her only fault had been that  
she wasn't Chloe. In the brief moments when the seemingly unrelenting  
rage for the universe that he felt exhausted him and actually let up,   
Lex felt guilty for punishing Laurissa for that fault. She had ended  
up having a nervous breakdown and while she was institutionalized, Lex  
had divorced her so he could marry his third wife - Victoria Hardwick.  
His fourth and fifth wives were much like Victoria. They had all   
wanted his money, his power, not him. Unlike Laurissa, they hadn't   
minded that he closed his eyes when he touched them. That he  
remembered Chloe while he had sex with them and that it was her name  
he whispered or screamed. "They mean nothing to me as Lois means   
nothing to you."  
  
"I love Lois," Clark stated automatically. He shifted uncomfortably  
and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "But she has this thing for  
Superman...."  
  
"Oh, please, Clark, subterfuge has never been your forte." Lex   
smiled sardonically. "I think the glasses you've never needed prove  
that you don't do disguises well. Were they out of the fake noses?   
I know you are Superman. My do-gooding nemesis."  
  
Clark swallowed nervously. He looked around for any goons with   
kryptonite, but they were still alone. "How long have you known?"  
  
"Always." Lex's smile softened in amusement. "The glasses never   
fooled Chloe either. She was a better reporter and friend than you  
thought, Clark."  
  
Continued.... 


	4. Then

Then  
  
The farm was comfort. Whenever Clark returned home to visit his  
parents, a feeling of complete safety enveloped him. This was the only  
place in the world where he could be himself and not worry about his  
secret being uncovered.  
  
"So, are you going to talk about what's bothering you?" It was also   
the only place where he couldn't get away with brooding. Clark smiled  
as his mother handed him the last plate to dry. She always brought  
out the good china whenever Clark came home for the weekend and hated  
to put them in the dishwasher for fear that they would get chipped.  
  
"Chloe is dating Lex." Clark carefully dried the plate and put it  
away in the cupboard. He wished he could fling across the room and  
watch it smash into little pieces against the wall, but he doubted that  
his mother would appreciate it. Martha Kent didn't tolerate temper  
tantrums, especially when they were vented using her grandmother's  
china.   
  
"That's been happening for a few months." Martha pulled the plug to  
let the dirty water drain and dried her hands on Clark's towel. She  
gave her son a sympathetic smile and touched his cheek. "I love Chloe,  
but you know, it would be easier if you fell for these girls before  
they had boyfriends."  
  
"I don't love Chloe like that, Mom. We're just friends. I just   
thought she would have seen through Lex by now. He's going to hurt   
her." Clark frowned. Chloe was so smart, why couldn't she figure out  
that Lex was using her. That he wanted her because she was a part of  
Clark's life and for some reason, Lex was obsessed with having   
everything that Clark had.   
  
"You don't know that." Martha bit her lip and shot a cautious look at  
her son. "It could be that you're confusing what happened between you,  
Lex, and Lana with Chloe's relationship with Lex. He could love her  
and if Chloe is happy...."  
  
"Lex doesn't know how to love, Mom. He only knows how to possess   
things and people." Clark slapped the damp towel against his thigh.  
"He won't be happy until he owns Chloe and then he'll throw her away  
like he has with all his other conquests. She may be happy now, but  
she'll be miserable later." Clark couldn't let that happen. Somehow  
he had to convince Chloe to throw Lex away first.  
  
*****  
  
Life had a funny way of taking surreal twists. Lex sipped at his  
champagne as he watched Chloe talking to Senator Carmichael and her  
husband. She was probably trying to pin down the Senator's position   
on the cut in daycare funding or something like that, but whatever it  
was, Lex would tell she was charming the hell out of them. She had   
charmed everyone in his social circle, even his father liked her once  
they got past his sexual advances. Lex smiled as he remembered walking  
into his father's study to find Lionel Luthor with an angry red mark  
on his cheek and the contents of a wine glass splashed in his face and  
down his shirt. Chloe was in the middle of a tirade about how Lionel  
should respect his son and her. Despite this incident, Lionel seemed  
to approve of Chloe and hadn't interfered further in their  
relationship. She was amazing and Lex couldn't believe that Chloe was  
still in his life, that she tolerated these endless boring business  
parties and dinners and other get-togethers. Lex caught Chloe's eye  
and she smiled and winked coyly at him.  
  
"Son." Lionel's voice stopped Lex from joining her. "I see that Miss  
Sullivan is enjoying herself. I hope that she doesn't manage to change  
Celina's mind about re-zoning that park as corporate land."  
  
"If she does, I'm sure a few more million dollars will change it back  
and you can build that condo in peace." Lex turned to his father.   
The bitter animosity he had felt for the man for most of his life had  
dulled. It just didn't seem important anymore to put so much energy  
into hating Lionel.  
  
"It's not money that sways Celina's opinion." Lionel grinned. "I  
might actually thank your girlfriend if have to persuade the good  
Senator again."  
  
"I'm sure that Chloe would be thrilled to know she aided another of   
your illicit affairs, Dad." Lex shook his head. Lionel's habit of   
mixing business with pleasure was old news to Lex, but he knew it would  
appall Chloe. She liked Senator Carmichael and although Chloe was  
sharp with a cynical edge, she was refreshingly naive about some   
aspects of human nature. Adultery was one of them. It would never   
occur to her that Senator Carmichael and her husband didn't  
particularly like each other and cheated with frightening regularity.  
Chloe had some old-fashioned notions about marriage being only two  
people forever and even though he had grown up in this world, he agreed  
with her.  
  
"This one is special. She means something to you, doesn't she, Lex?"  
Lionel stated what had been in the back of Lex's mind since he had   
first seen Chloe again. He stared intensely at Lex and then darted an  
appreciative glance at Chloe. He nodded sagely. "I approve."  
  
"Lord knows that's all I've ever wanted in life, Dad, your approval."  
Lex said the words with sarcasm, but he recognized the truth in them.  
It was ironic that he had based his whole life on deceit, corruption,   
and greed, but in the end it was falling in love with Chloe that had  
gained his father's approval. Especially since it no longer mattered.  
Lex loved Chloe whether Lionel approved of it or not.  
  
"You must bring Miss Sullivan by the house tomorrow night. We'll have  
a family dinner."  
  
"I'll check with Chloe and get back to you, Dad." Lex nodded at his  
father and left him. He noticed that Chloe extracted herself from   
the Carmichaels at the same time. They met each other by they coat  
check. "I think we've put in enough of an appearance to satisfy my  
father. Do you think as one of the hosts of this party, it would be  
rude if we leave so early?"  
  
Chloe rose up onto her toes and pecked his lips. "We're young, I think  
everyone will understand perfectly why we're leaving early. Let's get  
our coats." Lex handed over their tickets as well as a generous tip  
to the coat check girl. Chloe smiled up at him over her shoulder as he  
helped her on with her red jacket with faux fur collar. "You looked  
like you were having a decent conversation with your father."  
  
"I didn't throw my drink in his face, so I guess it could be decent."  
Lex chuckled at the pink blush that spread across Chloe's cheeks and  
pulled her into the elevator. Once the doors closed, he pulled her  
into his arms and preceded to kiss her senseless until they reached the  
lobby. He had wanted to do this all evening. When he was with Chloe,  
he begrudged any time where they weren't alone together. "We're   
invited to a family dinner at the house tomorrow night. If it's like  
all my father's family dinners, then the Carmichaels will probably be  
there. You might be able to finish finagling an interview out of the  
Senator." Lex led Chloe outside. His penthouse wasn't very far from  
the LuthorCorp building, so he had sent the limo home. He liked   
walking with Chloe. He squeezed her hand when she didn't say anything.  
Her face was upturned to the sky. The soft white flakes of one of  
winter's last snowfalls landed gently on her cheeks, nose, and   
eyelashes. "Chloe, what's wrong?"  
  
"We got our final assignments today." Chloe tugged Lex over to an   
empty front step of an old brick apartment building. It looked out of  
place among the tall steel and glass business buildings surrounding it,  
but it was a landmark and Lionel hadn't managed to have it declared  
otherwise. She sat down and Lex sat down beside her. "I was offered  
an exposé on LuthorCorp."  
  
"Really." This was it. The rift that would end their relationship.  
Lex had known that everything was too perfect, that this would happen  
eventually. Now Chloe would start finding things about his business  
practices that she wouldn't like and Clark would exploit that and  
convince her to leave him. "It sounds like quite an opportunity for  
you."  
  
"I turned it down. I asked for a story in the criminal justice   
section."  
  
"But you like covering the political/corporate stories." Lex frowned.  
"I don't want you to limit yourself or give things up for me, Chloe.  
We'll just have to keep our personal life separate from our careers."  
  
"There's only one problem with that, Lex. We're both human." Chloe  
cupped Lex's cheek. "I'm not giving up anything. The crime stories  
are just as interesting and prestigious as the political/corporate   
ones. I can still be an investigative reporter, I just don't want to  
investigate you. Trust me, nothing good comes from snooping into the  
lives of the people you care about. You find out things you don't want  
to know."  
  
"I want you to know everything about me, Chloe." Lex shifted closer to  
Chloe and took both her hands in his. He was going to give it up - all  
the underhanded business deals, the dicey research projects - and make  
her proud of him. "I want you to trust me."  
  
"I do trust you, Lex." Chloe looked down at their entwined hands.  
"I, uh..." She ran her tongue over her lips and glanced back up at   
him. "I love you."  
  
You are my world, my life. No other woman exists for me. I've never  
felt this way before. I love you too. Lex wanted to say all those  
things and take her breath away, but when he opened his mouth he didn't  
say anything. She loved him. He hadn't allowed himself to even hope  
that she could feel that way, so he was totally unprepared for her  
declaration.  
  
"Wow, I rendered Lex Luthor speechless." Chloe leaned forward and   
captured Lex's top lip in a kiss. "I love you."  
  
"I want you to be my wife." Lex shook his head. "I mean...I love you  
too, Chloe, more than....I love you so much. Will you marry me?" He  
stopped her answer with a fierce kiss, suddenly afraid of what she  
would say. "No, don't answer that. This isn't right...I should take  
you to dinner...candlelight and wildflowers...I don't even have a   
ring...."  
  
Chloe put her fingers to Lex's lips, halting the flow of words.   
"Shhh." She unbuttoned his warm black wool coat and slipped her arms  
around his waist, snuggling close to him. His heart thrummed against  
her ear. "Speechless and unprepared. Yes, I will marry you. I want  
to be your wife, Lex."  
  
Lex hugged Chloe even closer. Since his mother's death, love hadn't  
been a part of his life and he had never dreamed that it would ever be  
again. He was never letting Chloe go. "I love you, Chloe. I'll love  
you forever."  
  
*****  
  
The courtroom was moderately full. The murder trial of Gerald Ramiere  
wasn't sensational enough to attract a crowd of onlookers or grab the  
attention of the media - just Chloe. Clark spotted her immediately.  
She was sitting behind the empty defendant's chair, studiously   
scribbling something down in her notebook. Clark knew she was hoping  
to get an interview with Gerald Ramiere to complete her story and  
assignment. Chloe glanced at her watch and as she did the ring on her  
left hand flashed under the flourescent lights. She paused and stared  
at it before caressing it lightly with her right pinky. A soft smile  
stole over her face. Clark had to hand it to Lex, he sure knew how  
to pick out an engagement ring. It was a beautiful diamond and   
sapphire ring with a white gold band.  
  
"Chloe." Clark took the seat next to her.  
  
"Hey, Clark." Chloe looked up at him and grinned. "Court just  
adjourned and the jury is deliberating. I'm just waiting around for  
Ramiere's lawyer to see if my interview was granted. What's with the  
sexy specs?"  
  
"Oh, these." Clark self-consciously pushed his new black frame glasses  
up his nose. He had gotten them that morning because of a recent   
close call. Pete had come down for the weekend and they had taken   
Chloe out to a movie. Clark had forgotten his wallet and pretended   
that it was back in the car. He had used his super speed to run back  
to the dorm and while he was there he rescued a girl from being   
assaulted. The close call had come the next day when the girl had  
almost recognized him in the coffee shop. He didn't think he would be  
able to explain to Chloe and Pete how he could be saving a girl   
across town when he was at a movie with them. He had decided then that  
he needed something to change his features, to give people pause when  
they thought about where they might have seen him before. "I was   
getting headaches and went for an eye exam."  
  
"Really. So, the guy with the amazing constitution has bad eyesight.  
I better have them stop the presses, it sounds like the story of the  
century." Chloe elbowed him in the ribs. "Come on, Clark, fess up.  
Are you in deep with the mafia? Your gambling debts finally catch up  
with you? Get a girl pregnant? Spill your deep, dark secret to your  
best friend Chloe."  
  
Clark frowned. Chloe's tone was light and teasing, but her eyes were  
pleading with him to tell her something. She couldn't be concerned  
about the glasses, could she? "You know me, Chloe, I'm as mysterious  
as the ending of a romance novel. I'm fine."  
  
"Of course." Chloe's face fell and she doodled aimlessly n the margins  
of her notebook. "You know, you can tell me anything, Clark, and I'll  
understand."  
  
"I know, same goes for you." An awful thought occurred to Clark that  
could explain Chloe's strange behavior. He slid closer to her and   
placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is something wrong, Chloe? Did Lex  
hurt you?"  
  
"No." Chloe jerked away. She glared at Clark. "This has nothing to  
do with Lex. this is about you and me. And friendship. And trust.  
You don't trust me, Clark."  
  
"Yes, I do. It's Lex I don't trust. He's changing you." Clark held  
up a hand to stave off Chloe's protests. This was not a new   
conversation and now Clark knew what Lex had been up to. While he  
had been playing the loving fiancee, he had also been turning Chloe  
against him. "You have changed. Look at the story you're writing.  
You should be investigating LuthorCorp and exposing all their dirty  
deals, but you're afraid of finding out who your fiancé really is."  
  
"Don't go there, Clark. I love Lex and I know who he is." Chloe's   
lip trembled with indignation and her spine stiffened. Her jaw jutted  
out as she looked directly at her best friend. "And who are you to be  
telling me what I should be doing? I like crime reporting, but you've  
never asked me if like it or not. Do you want to know why? Because   
it reminds me of when I would chase down leads to those crazy meteor  
stories I used to write for the Torch. But I guess you know they   
weren't so crazy. Now, if you'll excuse me, Gerald Ramiere's lawyer  
just walked into the courtroom and I have to find out if I got my  
interview."  
  
As Chloe passed by him, Clark caught her hand. "I'm sorry if what I  
said hurt you, Chloe, but I can't stand by and watch Lex destroy your  
life. He's lying to you and he'll lie to you as long as you keep   
believing him. You can't trust people like Lex."  
  
A gaspy laugh escaped Chloe's lips. Ever hear the expression 'people  
in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?'" She wiped hastily at her  
eyes and walked away from Clark. Lex had won. Chloe had chosen him  
and Clark had no idea why.  
  
Continued.... 


	5. At This Moment

At This Moment  
  
Finally, it made sense. All the leading questions, the comments about  
secrets and trust, the barely veiled pleading looks Chloe would shoot  
his way. She had known. The whole time he had agonized about keeping  
his life as Superman from his best friend, she had known anyway.  
Tears prickled at his eyes Clark blinked them away. "How?" His upset  
and regret was thick in his voice. All those years he could have  
shared with Chloe, they could have gotten closer instead of becoming  
virtual strangers to each other lives. Maybe they could have even....  
Clark wouldn't finish the thought. He hadn't allowed himself to think   
of Chloe in a romantic way when she was alive - he had been too afraid  
that he would endanger her life - and he wasn't about to fantasize   
the impossibilities now that she was dead.  
  
"Your adoption. She couldn't help solving the mystery."  
  
"I asked her to drop that." A sudden flash of anger over-rode the  
guilt and pain. Maybe he hadn't trusted her, but there had obviously  
been a good reason not to. She had betrayed him - poked around in his  
past and then shared his secrets with his enemy.  
  
"Before you get too deeply involved in your self-righteous anger, you  
should know that Chloe never told me you were Superman. I found out   
by investigating our little accident and I told her of my suspicions."  
Lex watched Clark closely now. He wanted to see his reaction. He  
needed to see it. To watch this man realize how wonderful the woman  
Lex had lost was. Clark had always taken Chloe for granted - her love,  
her friendship - and he had never truly appreciated her. If he had,  
he wouldn't have been able to throw her away. "She confirmed my   
findings and made me promise her that I would never tell anyone your  
secret hero status."  
  
"So that's why it hasn't been the headline story for the Inquisitor. It  
would have sold a lot of papers." Clark felt a bit of fear. Why was  
Lex telling him this now? Was it to prepare him for such a headline or  
an attack on his family.   
  
If there was one emotion Lex recognized easily, it was fear. Clark was  
afraid and he had every right to be. They had played the Superman vs  
Lex Luthor game for years, but now it was personal. Now it was   
between him and Clark Kent. This wasn't going to be about saving the  
world, it was going to be about two girls from their past. "I have   
money, but you can never have enough," Lex said mildly, not at all   
trying to put Clark's mind at ease.  
  
"You've never used my real identity against me because of your promise  
to Chloe. That's why you've never gone after my parents or Lana. All  
these years you've left them out of this."  
  
"Yes, but Chloe's dead, Clark. And don't worry about Lana, it's not  
her fault you were infatuated with her in highschool."  
  
The fear was building. His parents, Lex was going to hurt his parents.  
Clark doubted that he would hurt them physically, but financially...his  
parents were just starting to enjoy their retirement. Or maybe Lex  
was just trying to distract him from his real target. "It isn't Lois'  
fault that I love her and you've never hesitated to use her against me  
despite your promise."  
  
"That's because Lois is in love with Superman. She's not really a part  
of your life, Clark." Lex smirked at the pain in his former friend's  
eyes. The bastard deserved to live his life in love with a woman who  
barely noticed he was alive. But the tiny bit of his conscience that  
was left - the part that Lex believed was Chloe - wouldn't let Clark  
leave thinking that his parents were in danger. Lex really didn't have  
anything against Martha and Jonathan Kent and he wouldn't ruin them.  
Just their son. "Chloe loved your parents. I keep my promises and you  
don't have to worry about them."  
  
"You promised to destroy me once, not Superman."  
  
"And I will."  
  
Continued... 


	6. Bygones

Bygones  
  
It was quiet. The very early morning bustle of garbage and delivery  
trucks couldn't be heard from the penthouse suite. The orangish   
yellow rays of the sunrise that filtered through the cream colored  
blinds of their bedroom threaded golden highlights in Chloe's hair.  
Her breathing was deep and even and she wouldn't waken for at least   
another hour. Lex smiled. Chloe wouldn't wake up easily either. To  
say that she wasn't a morning person was a complete and utter  
understatement. She used the snooze button like some people consumed  
coffee in the morning - she usually postponed her caffeine intake until  
later in the morning. Lex didn't mind that Chloe liked to sleep late  
while he woke up early. He loved watching her sleep. She wasn't a   
peaceful sleeper, which wasn't surprising given that she wasn't a   
peaceful person. Her nose would twitch, her forehead would wrinkle in  
a frown - as if her dreams posed tough questions she struggled to   
answer - and she would murmur softly. Sometimes she would say his   
name. This was one of his favorite times of the day. Every since Lex  
had fallen in love with Chloe, he had found he had many favorite times  
of the day and they were all when he was with her.  
  
The alarm flipped on in the middle of a trippy ballad by The Tea Party  
and instead of grumbling something rude and crawling over Lex to hit   
the snooze button, Chloe's eyes snapped open. She smiled. "Good   
morning. I like this song." She leaned over and kissed him. "Only  
thirty-six hours until I am Chloe Sullivan Luthor and we'll be winging  
our way to...." She wrinkled her cute little nose as if trying to   
remember their destination. "Where was it we were going to wing to?"  
  
Lex wasn't fooled at all. He graced his wife-to-be with a superior   
smirk. "I'm not telling."  
  
"Why not?" Chloe whined. She jutted out her lip in a pout for good  
measure. She had tried one their usual verbal jousts, sneaky   
investigative reporting techniques, and even seduction and none of them  
had pried the information of where they would be honeymooning from her  
sly fiancee. "It's stupid not to tell. How am I supposed to pack?"  
  
"Why are we driving to Smallville today so you can spend the night at  
your Dad's house? Tradition." Lex countered. He knew it was driving  
her crazy that she didn't know something and none of the skills she  
normally utilized had uncovered it for her. "And don't worry about  
packing. I had Martha do that for you."  
  
"Really." Chloe sat up in bed. Already he could tell that she was  
mentally calculating her wardrobe, sure that she could figure out their  
destination by what was missing from her closet.  
  
Before Chloe could get out of bed, Lex put a restraining hand on her  
shoulder. He shook his head. "Sorry, love, that won't work. I gave  
Martha the money to buy you a new wardrobe for the honeymoon."  
  
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You let Martha Kent, the woman who had been  
a mother to me, pick out what I'm going to ward on my honeymoon with   
the incorrigible Lex Luthor?"  
  
"Well, I may have picked out a few items myself. And Martha has always  
liked me."  
  
"Yes, she has." Chloe smiled wistfully. "Do you think Clark will come  
to the wedding?"   
  
Despite her bowed head, Lex didn't miss the shine of tears in Chloe's   
eyes. He didn't care if Clark took off to the ends of the earth   
without so much as a 'good luck.' Their friendship was over and had   
been for a long time, but Chloe cared. Lex knew that she wanted them   
all to be friends again. She wanted Clark to be okay with their   
marriage and the life she had chosen for herself. Lex tilted Chloe's  
chin up so he could see her face and he brushed her hair behind her  
ears. "He's your best friend. Clark will be there." And he would be,  
Lex vowed to himself. There would be nothing about their wedding that  
Chloe would look back on and regret or make her feel sad. If Lex had  
anything to say about it, Chloe would feel nothing but happiness for   
the rest of her life.  
  
*****  
  
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Clark sighed as   
the cliche ran through his head. He was in the barn loft back at the  
farm, but unlike his teenage years, he wasn't obsessing over Lana Lang.  
He was thinking about Chloe and her wedding. She was actually going to  
marry Lex Luthor the very next day.  
  
"Clark." Lex's greeting pulled Clark from his morose mood. He stood  
a few feet away, his hands casually in his pockets, as he had stood a  
hundred times before. Clark turned back to the soft pink rays of the  
setting sun without a verbal acknowledgment.  
  
The war of silence lasted a few minutes before Clark finally   
capitulated. He knew that Lex wouldn't say anything else. "Don't you  
have any last minute preparations to do or a bachelor party to be at?"   
  
"My father hosted a sedate gathering attended by our business   
associates back in Metropolis - it was bachelor party enough - and I'm  
here on a last minute preparation." An actual smile crossed Lex's   
lips. It wasn't a face-splitting grin, but it was the sincerest   
emotion Clark had ever seen him display. "I would like you to come to  
the wedding, Clark."  
  
"I find that hard to believe." Clark folded his arms on his chest and  
tried to figure out Lex's game. What would he have to gain by forcing  
him to watch his best friend make the biggest mistake of her life? The  
smug satisfaction of knowing that every word of their vows would twist  
in Clark's gut? Wasn't it enough that he had taken everything he cared  
about?  
  
"It would break Chloe's heart if you weren't there and I plan on doing  
anything in my power to keep her heart in one piece from now on."  
  
There was a lot of things Clark could have said to Lex about that, but   
he didn't get the chance. Lex had said what he wanted to, so he turned  
and left without further argument or encouragement.  
  
*****  
  
It had happened. It had actually happened. They had said their vows,   
they had been announced as man and wife, the bride had been kissed, and  
they had danced the first dance. Chloe was his wife. Lex sighed and  
took a sip of champagne. Finally, he could let go of the tiny doubt  
that had refused to vacate the back of his mind every since he had   
kissed Chloe in the coffee shop. The one that told him that eventually  
she would see him - really see him - and leave. The funny thing was,  
she had seen him - he confessed all of his dirty deeds - and she   
married him anyway. She loved him.  
  
The reception was in full swing at Luthor Manor. Chloe was alternating  
dances with her father, Jonathan, and his father while Lex had danced   
a few with Martha and Lana. Lex didn't mind that they were separated  
for now, he would have her to himself soon enough. He noticed Clark  
standing in a corner, not joining in on the festivities. He had shown  
up at the ceremony as well. He hadn't offered any congratulations, but  
Chloe hadn't needed any. Her face had brightened even more - if it had  
been possible - when she had seen him. Lex knew that she saw this as   
the first step toward all of them rebuilding their friendship.  
  
Seeing that his new wife was being kept occupied, Lex took the   
opportunity to slip away to the study. He had a few last minute phone  
calls to make regarding the honeymoon. He had leased a castle in   
Ireland for a month and wanted to make sure that everything was ready  
for their arrival. After that they would spend another month roaming  
around Europe - Paris, Madrid, Venice - anywhere Chloe wanted to go.  
  
"Lex?" Lana walked hesitantly into the study just as he was finishing  
his call. She looked beautiful as always in her lemon yellow strapless  
maid of honor gown, her dark hair swept up in a french twist. "Are you  
busy?"  
  
"Just making sure that everything is set for the honeymoon. You look   
beautiful."  
  
"Not as beautiful as Chloe." Lana smiled and walked further into the  
room. "She's glowing, Lex, I don't think I've ever seen her look so  
happy. Or you either."  
  
"I've never been this happy before." Lex rubbed his hand over his  
head. His lips stretched in a grin. He hadn't stopped smiling all   
day. "I didn't think it was possible to be this happy."  
  
"Then I'm glad you found it. Congratulations and don't ever let it  
go." Lana twisted the wedding band that graced her ring finger on her  
left hand. "No matter what, don't let it go."  
  
"I won't." Lex reached out and took Lana's hand. "I'm sorry, Lana,   
about what happened with you and me and Clark. I shouldn't have taken  
advantage...."  
  
"You did no such thing," Lana interrupted him. "Nell was the one who  
took advantage. She knew you were upset with your father and I had   
just gotten that letter from Whitney...I shouldn't have gone to the  
Talon that night I should have went home even though Nell had asked me  
to stay out while she had her date over."  
  
"She did cover all of her bases. Why didn't you go to Clark?"  
  
"I knew you weren't in love with me and I didn't love you. You   
couldn't hurt me and I needed that so I went to the Talon and I kissed  
you."  
  
"But I was the one who let it go too far. It should have been just a  
simple kiss and then I should have taken you home. If I had then   
Clark wouldn't have walked in on us and you two would be living happily  
ever after."  
  
"Maybe, maybe not. And as I recall, I was the one who took my shirt   
off and you were the one trying to put it back on me when Clark walked  
into the Talon." Lana sighed, but then her face brightened as she  
smiled. "All that is over and done with now. We can't change what   
happened, so let's just forget it and be happy. I am very happy for  
you Lex, and Chloe." Lana reached up and gave Lex a hug.  
  
It was something that Lex was getting used to - the hugging and   
closeness with other people - so he hugged her back. "Thanks, Lana,  
and if you ever need...."  
  
"I don't believe it," Clark interrupted Lex. He stood in the doorway  
stunned by the sight before him. Once again he had walked in on Lex   
with his hands all over Lana. At least this time they were both fully  
clothed - probably in deference to Lex and Chloe's wedding day.   
"Actually, I do."  
  
"Clark." Lana pulled away from Lex. She frowned at Clark. "It was  
just a hug. I was congratulating Lex for not being stupid and letting  
go of his love, but why should I bother explaining this to you? You  
never really listened to what I said."  
  
"I did to. Sometimes all I ever did was listen to you." Clark   
scowled. He knew Lana was married to some ex-football jock that used  
to be a friend of Whitney's. Between Lex and the jocks, he had never  
really stood a chance. And now they were going to crush Chloe's heart  
too.  
  
"Sure, you listened, but you only heard what conformed to your version  
of the perfect Lana. Why do you think I couldn't go to you that night,  
Clark? Because all you would have heard was that Whitney and I broke  
up. You wouldn't have wanted to hear about how I actually cared about  
him and how he had really hurt me. It's not your fault, we were in  
highschool, but it wasn't really anybody's fault what happened between  
Lex and I either. We were all young and stupid and I am sorry if I   
hurt you, but you hurt me too. Can't we just let it go?"  
  
"I always cared about how you felt, Lana. You were the one who always  
ignored my feelings." Clark turned to glare at Lex. He couldn't look  
at Lana anymore. "And now you're ignoring Chloe's. How do you think  
this is would make Chloe feel?"  
  
"How would what make me feel?" Chloe's voice chirped from behind   
Clark. She pushed by him into the room. "What's going on?"  
  
"Why don't you tell her, Clark?" Lex's cool gaze met Clark's stormy  
one, the challenge obvious. He would hate Clark forever if he ruined  
this day for Chloe with his jealous suspicions.  
  
"Why don't you?" Clark countered. He wanted to hear the lies Lex told  
Chloe. Maybe then he could find a way to combat them, some evidence   
that they were lies.  
  
"Well, somebody tell me!" Chloe's smile faltered as her gaze darted   
from her husband to her best friend. She laughed nervously. "Lana,  
you want to fill me in?"  
  
"It's nothing, Chloe, just your usual alpha male problems." Lana moved  
forward and linked her arm with Chloe's. "We should get back to the  
party. It's almost time for you and Lex to leave on your honeymoon."  
  
Unfortunately, Chloe was too smart to fall for Lana's distraction. Lex  
really didn't expect her to. She was intent on repairing the past  
friendship between he and Clark so she wouldn't let any new trouble  
crop up and destroy her plan. This was all going to worked out   
tonight, for better or worse. "This is about what happened in the  
Talon graduation year between you and Lex, isn't it?"  
  
"You know about that?" Clark's eyes widened in amazement. If Chloe  
had known about Lex and Lana then how could she have fallen in love   
with him? How could she be so calm about them being alone in the   
study together? "I found them alone in here together."  
  
"So? There is nothing going on between Lex and Lana now, Clark, just  
like there wasn't anything going on between them then."  
  
"Is that what Lex told you? I'm surprised he told you anything at  
all."  
  
"Lex tells me everything," Chloe said softly. A sadness Clark didn't  
understand entered her eyes. "Look, Clark let's just put the past  
behind us like Lana suggested. I love Lex and I love you, can't you  
accept that?"  
  
It would be nice if he could. Clark wanted nothing more than to let   
the past rest and be friends with Chloe while tolerating Lex. That  
would be great, but not possible. "I'm sorry, Chloe, I can't do it.  
I don't trust him. I don't trust him not to hurt you." Clark blinked  
back his tears and turned to leave. There was nothing he could do now.  
He turned to look back at Chloe one last time. "I do love you, Chloe,  
and I hope like hell that I'm wrong, but I know I'm not." He left,   
trying to blot the look of blank shock on Chloe's face from his mind.  
That's not how he wanted to remember her. It didn't take long for Lex   
to catch up with him in the hall.  
  
"Clark." Lex rested his hand on the younger man's shoulder. He wanted  
to do so much more, but knew it wouldn't be possible to break every   
bone in Kent's body. He smiled instead - the evil smirk he was famous  
for in certain business circles. "I was serious about not letting  
anything or anybody hurt Chloe. I hate it that you have the power to  
do that to her, but I have power too. You will know pain, Clark Kent,  
I promise you that. I will destroy you."  
  
*****  
  
The life of a married man agreed with Lex. He loved everything about  
it. He especially loved his beautiful wife. He had been married to  
Chloe for a little over a year and his love for her just kept growing  
every day. He had thought that love like this only existed in   
fairytales - the ones his father had little use for, but his mother had  
read to him anyway.  
  
"Hey there, Corporate Raider, aren't you supposed to be wheeling and  
dealing instead of staring into space?" Chloe came up from behind Lex  
and dropped herself into his lap. She stared out at the city view   
offered by his office window that had so caught her husband's   
attention. "If you keep this up, how ever are you going to provide the  
bread you're supposed to winning?" She laid her hand absently on her  
abdomen.  
  
Lex covered her hand with his and kissed the top of Chloe's head.   
"Don't worry, I acquired a failing software company that owns a patent  
to an interesting program. It'll become a part of LexTech and should   
provide more than enough bread." He shifted her to a more comfortable  
position and smiled down at her. "What brings you by?"  
  
"Lunch. And I want to talk to you about something." Chloe looked   
down at their hands, which was a sure sign that she was reluctant to  
bring up this 'something,' but it was important to her.  
  
"Where do you want to go for lunch?" Lex swung the chair around to  
find a large picnic basket on his desk. "Ah, staying in, are we?"  
  
Chloe jumped off Lex's lap and moved around to the front of his desk.  
"You're quick, no wonder I fell in love with you." She started   
unpacking the basket, producing food she had obviously prepared   
herself. Turkey and cheese sandwiches made with crusty Kaiser buns  
and probably slathered with mayonnaise. He smiled when she brought out  
four champagne glasses and two large bottles - one filled with milk  
and the other orange juice.   
  
"What did you want to talk about?" Lex asked curiously as he reached  
out and snagged a nectarine from the basket. He waited patiently as  
Chloe finished fussing with the food. When she walked back toward him,  
Lex pulled her back down onto this lap.  
  
"I want to tell Clark." Chloe looked up into Lex's eyes and in them he  
saw that she was asking for his understanding. She wasn't asking for  
permission. This was something she was going to do. "I miss him and  
maybe this will help him see that we are a family and that you love me  
and you're not going to hurt me."  
  
"I hope so, for your sake." Lex squeezed Chloe's waist. "But I don't  
want you getting upset. You have to promise me you'll leave if he  
upsets you. Stress isn't good for the baby."  
  
"Our baby is fine." Chloe patted her slightly distended abdomen.   
"And I promise to leave if I start getting upset. I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Lex brushed a strand of blonde hair behind Chloe's  
ear. He slowly navigated his finger down her jawline and neck in a   
tender caress before dipping his head down to meet her kiss. His   
tongue flickered out to lick at the seam of her lips and she opened   
them. Her fingers tickled at the base of his skull. The kiss  
deepened. This was heaven and Lex never wanted to leave. The best  
part was that with the birth of their baby, things were only going to  
get better.  
  
*****  
  
Life had gotten busy again and that was the way Clark liked it. It  
gave him little time to brood about the loss of his best friend. He   
hadn't seen Lana, Lex, or Chloe since Lex and Chloe's wedding day,   
although he had heard a lot about the married couple. It had made the  
papers when they had returned from their honeymoon and then they were  
forever chronicled at various social and business events. Chloe   
Sullivan Luthor was a hit with the public and she had raised people's  
perception of the Luthors considerably. Their first anniversary had  
made the front page, mostly because no one had believed it would last  
that long, but it had and it didn't look like it was going to end any  
time soon.  
  
On days like this, Clark regretted his decision to walk away from   
Chloe as long as she was involved with Lex. He would give anything to  
hear Chloe's voice. Sometimes he would catch himself picking up the  
phone to call her to tell her all about the news in his life.   
Sometimes he wished he had told her about his powers and where he was  
from and about the people he had helped. Sometimes he needed her   
advice. But he had let her go. Chloe didn't belong in his world  
anymore, the pictures in the paper made that more than clear. She  
belonged to Lex's world now.  
  
"Clark!" the voice that was once so familiar and now was alien yelled  
from across the street.  
  
It was folly to turn around. Clark knew that he should just keep   
walking and pretend he hadn't heard her. But what if she needed his  
help? Clark turned around. Chloe grinned and waved at him. She   
waited for the walk light to appear, even though this side street was  
nearly devoid of traffic, before dashing across.  
  
"Hi, Chloe." Clark adjusted the strap of his backpack slung over his  
shoulder. He really should get rid of it, he was out of college now,  
but it was comforting.  
  
"Hi, Clark." Chloe shuffled her feet. "So, how is everything?   
Martha, told me about your internship at the Daily Planet.   
Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks. How come you didn't apply?" Clark frowned. Chloe didn't   
look devastated and the papers certainly hadn't reported anything   
about trouble in the Luthor marriage. The rings still sparkled on her  
finger.  
  
"Well, I've been a bit busy lately and things are going to get busier  
otherwise I would have." Chloe wrung her hands in excitement and  
bounced on her toes. She looked like someone had offered her the  
position of editor at the Planet. "Clark, I have news."  
  
"Yeah, you have been making the news lately instead of tracking it  
down." He hated to wipe that smile from Chloe's face, but he couldn't  
pretend that nothing had changed between them. It would be too hard  
to be her friend with Lex hovering in the background. "Look, Chloe, I  
have to go or I'm going to be late. I have an orientation meeting."  
  
"Okay. Can we meet later? I have something important to tell you."  
  
"I'm sorry, Chloe, but I haven't changed my mind." Clark turned   
around and walked away.  
  
"But, Clark, please..." Chloe's call stopped him. "I just...I needed  
to say...to tell you...I still love you. You're still my best friend  
and I want to tell you all good things in my life. I'm sorry you don't  
want to hear them because they involve Lex. If you ever do change your  
mind, give me a call."  
  
Clark closed his eyes tight and clenched his fists as he listened to  
Chloe's footsteps walking away from him. A harsh screech and the sound  
of the grating crunch of metal on metal snapped Clark's head up and  
his eyes open. A dull thud met his ears as he spun around.  
  
Too late. He was too late. Clark stood dumbfounded as Chloe landed  
on the curb. Her head hit the concrete with a sickening crack as the  
car that had hit her careened down the street until it hit the side of  
a building. Clark couldn't move. For the first time his powers failed  
him. No superspeed, no flight, he couldn't do anything.  
  
The persistent blare of the car's horn finally broke through Clark's  
stupor and sudden paralysis. He was at Chloe's side before he even  
realized he had moved. Her eyes were open, but they were empty. She  
was still breathing though - shallow, wheezing breaths - but it was  
good enough for Clark. An ambulance would take too long and he really  
didn't care about any questions that might be asked, so Clark picked   
Chloe up and ran. He had never pushed his superspeed that fast before,  
but he had to make it to the hospital in time. He had to save Chloe.  
He had to. Oh, God, there was so much blood.  
  
***** 


	7. Bygones Continued

No. No. No. No. No. The word dominated Lex's thoughts as he rushed  
through the emergency room doors. Chloe was fine. She and the baby  
were fine. He tried to ignore the feeling that this had been  
inevitable, that he didn't deserve Chloe and the baby and so they were  
going to be taken away from him.  
  
"Chloe Sullivan Luthor," Lex frantically addressed the nurse at the  
registration desk even though it unnecessary - she was already leading  
the way down the hall. "Is she okay?"  
  
"You really should speak to the doctor, Mr. Luthor." The woman avoided  
meeting his eyes. It wasn't an uncommon action in his presence, but  
this time it filled Lex with a sense of dread. "Wait here." She  
disappeared through a pair of swinging doors.  
  
Clark was sitting slumped in a chair behind him. Some part of Lex's  
cognitive processes registered his presence although he didn't  
acknowledge his former best friend. The front of Clark's shirt was  
covered in blood. The doctor stepped out into the waiting room.  
  
"Mr. Luthor." The doctor looked grave and slightly nervous. He   
cleared his throat before continuing in an authoritative manner.   
"Your wife sustained numerous internal injuries that caused major  
hemorrhaging. The most serious injury was a skull fracture that caused  
intra cranial bleeding. I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor, we tried everything   
medically possible, but your wife's injuries were too severe."  
  
Lex heard the doctor's voice. He understood the words he was saying.  
It wasn't real. They were just words. He pushed past the man and  
walked through the swinging doors. Chloe lay on a table, a clean  
white sheet was covering her body. Blood spattered sheets were in a  
laundry bag in the corner. The floor was still smeared with blood.  
Lex approached his wife. She was so still. Her eyes were closed,  
dark bruises circled around them and marred her creamy skin. That  
stubborn strand of hair was pasted to her cheek with drying blood.  
Lex reached out and carefully peeled it away to sweep in back behind  
her ear the way she liked it.  
  
"Chloe." It was barely a whisper. She didn't open her eyes. Lex  
rested his head on her chest and gathered her in his arms. The soft  
thump of her heart was absent. The tears wouldn't come. Lex wanted  
desperately to cry for Chloe, to yell and scream and sob his grief,  
but he couldn't. He couldn't feel anything. This was real. Chloe  
was gone.  
  
Continued... 


	8. Today

Today  
  
The moon was insanely bright as its reflection gleamed in the dark  
recesses of Lex's eyes. Clark took a step back. For the first time,  
he actually thought that Lex would try to kill him with his bare hands  
instead of letting his minions continue to do his dirty work. "You  
can't begin to know the depth of my grief or what I lost that day."  
The unholy light left Lex's eyes as he stared down at the grave. He  
suddenly knelt and reached out to trace the words on the headstone  
with his fingertips. "I knew it was all too perfect to last. I just  
wish it had been me, then Chloe and...." Lex trailed off and Clark  
thought that he might have been crying. Lex never cried over Chloe,  
at least not in front of him.  
  
To stop himself from feeling sorry for Lex, Clark stared at the  
headstone. It should have been Lex. It should have been his name   
carved in stone, not Chloe's. Clark should have been accompanying   
Chloe here every year. She should have been loved forever in life, not  
death. The wind creaked the branches above them and Clark's heart went  
cold as knowledge reached in and squeezed it. Never alone. Something  
important to tell him. Things getting too busy for her to apply for  
an internship at the Planet. What Lex had lost that day. Chloe and...  
  
"Chloe was pregnant."  
  
There was no confirmation coming from the man who grieved silently in  
the dark, but Clark didn't need it. Chloe had been pregnant with Lex's  
baby. All she had wanted that day was for him to be happy for her.  
  
As suddenly as he went down, Lex gracefully stood up. The moon   
disappeared behind a lone dark cloud and shadows crept further out  
around them. "All you had to do was talk to her. She would be alive  
today if you had talked to her." Lex turned and walked away. "Until  
we meet again, Superman," he called without looking back. The   
anniversary was over for another year.  
  
Continued.... 


	9. Tomorrow

Tomorrow  
  
Faster than a speeding bullet. Lois had written that about Superman  
once. It wasn't fast enough. It hadn't been fast enough to save Chloe  
and Clark had the sinking feeling it wouldn't be fast enough to save  
Lois either. He raced around Metropolis, checking every building with  
even the slightest association with LexCorp. He had her somewhere.  
  
When Clark had returned from Chloe's grave the night before, he had  
been emotionally drained. He had needed someone to talk to and had  
decided that he had to tell Lois everything. He hadn't found her at  
the Daily Planet or at her apartment. There was nothing to indicate   
who had taken her or that she had been taken at all, but Clark  
knew. Lex had made his move. Clark stopped suddenly on the roof of a  
LexCorp warehouse. They weren't here. He was wasting his time in   
Metropolis. There was only one place Lex would take Lois after last  
night - where everything started. Smallville.  
  
*****  
  
Smallville Highschool, home of the Crows, had been rebuilt since Chloe,  
Lana, Pete, and Clark had graced its halls. Lex knew this because   
LexCorp had contributed the money and materials for its construction.  
There had been only one catch, this room - the office of the Torch -  
was to remain in the same location and replicated exactly. Lex glanced  
at Lois. He had shackled her to a computer station - Chloe's computer  
station - and the glow from the screen lent her skin a sickly greenish  
cast.  
  
"Relax, Lois. You should be comfortable in this environment and I'm   
sure your hero will arrive soon." Lex surreptitiously checked his   
watch and repressed a frown. Maybe he had overestimated Clark's   
deductive abilities and should have left a clue as to where he had   
taken Lois. Clark didn't have Chloe to figure things out for him so he  
could arrive in the nick of time after all. Lois straightened in a   
sudden burst of confidence and an unmistakable ray of hope shone from  
her eyes. Clark had arrived to join the party. "Superman." Lex   
turned with a smile of welcome that twitched at the sight of the man in  
the doorway. It was still difficult to reconcile the memory of his  
bashful former friend with the spandex and caped wonder of Metropolis.  
  
"Let her go, Lex. This is between you and me." Clark didn't like the  
look on Lex's face. He was too calm. There was no hint of the normal  
maniacal energy he usually displayed while trying to take over the   
world with some devious plan. There was something final in Lex's   
attitude - something that gave Clark the idea that, as far as Lex was  
concerned, this was the last time they would meet.  
  
"It has never been between just you and I. We've always dragged others  
into it. Your father, your mother, my father, Lana, Chloe...." Lex's  
smile changed as he said her name, it became soft and wistful. Chloe.  
Chloe. This was all for her. "The list goes on, doesn't it, Clark."  
  
"Clark?" Lois stopped struggling with her bindings and looked around  
for her puppy-like colleague. "Where's Clark?"  
  
"Where he's always been - standing before you as Superman." Lex shook  
his head with amusement at Lois Lane's shocked face. "I'm sorry I  
didn't give you time to put it all together yourself, Lois. You're a  
smart woman, you would have eventually - just like Chloe did." Lex  
chuckled. "You should have heard her ranting and raving, Clark, about  
how stupid she had been not to get it sooner. Finally, she laughed and  
said she was distracted by your wholesome farm boy smile and big blue  
eyes. You were probably distracted by the tights, Lois."  
  
"Y...you're Clark." Lois stared at the man she thought she had known  
so well. The man she was sure that she loved. "Why didn't you tell   
me?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Lois." Clark stepped forward. This wasn't how he had   
wanted her to find out. If he was honest with himself, he would admit  
that he had never really wanted her to find out. He wasn't sure that  
he would have told Lois everything if he had found her at the Planet  
even though it had been his original intention. Trusting his friends  
had never been something he was good at.  
  
"Did Clark every tell you about Chloe, Lois?" Lex reached out and   
pulled the cloth that covered the bulletin board to reveal his   
masterpiece. Where once there had been a Wall of Weird, there was now  
a shrine to Chloe Sullivan Luthor. Photographs of a beautiful, smiling  
Chloe were interspersed with articles she had written that she had  
been particularly proud of - a few were exclusives on Lex Luthor that   
she had written for the Torch back in highschool - and there were also  
a few articles written about her engagement, her marriage, her death.  
"I doubt that he's said anything to you about her."  
  
"She was your first wife." Lois looked to Clark. "You knew Lex   
Luthor's first wife."  
  
"She was my best friend," Clark answered Lois absently. He stepped  
further into the room. Chloe beamed at him from her wall. He  
recognized the picture that had caught his attention. It had been   
taken in the Torch office for the yearbook. Chloe had stood between  
he and Pete, her arms around their waists. Pete worked for Lex now.  
He hated Clark and blamed him for Chloe's death. Pete was still   
smiling in the picture. Lex had cut Clark out.   
  
"As was I." Lex flipped a switch on the desk beside him and the   
computer stations behind Clark whirred to life. The screens lit up,  
casting a green glow over passage to the door. It wasn't an ordinary  
computer screen cast off, it was too intense, too green. Clark felt  
a sickening wave of nausea grip him and he stumbled ahead, out of its  
range. "Kryptonite," Lex confirmed for him. "I had the whole room  
specifically rebuilt with the past in mind. Didn't I once tell you   
that the past always influences the present, Clark?"  
  
"Yes. You said you couldn't change that, all you could do was  
understand it." Clark straightened up with effort. He could feel the  
kryptonite leeching into his system. He had to save Lois and get the   
hell out of there. "Killing Lois in front of me won't accomplish   
anything, Lex. I understand the past. I was an ass. Chloe was happy  
with you and I should have accepted that. If I had then she would  
probably be alive today and we wouldn't be here, but I can't change  
what happened."  
  
"No, you can't." Lex was a bit taken aback by Clark's confession. It  
had never really occurred to him that Clark would blame himself for   
Chloe's death. Clark was the hero. Lex had always thought Clark had  
blamed him, it was what he had always said. Of course, at this point  
Clark would say anything to save Lois. "Too bad, Superman. I guess  
there are some women in this world you can't save."  
  
"Lex, please, this is insane. Chloe wouldn't want this...she wouldn't  
want you to hurt someone in her name." Clark kept his eyes trained on  
Lex and prayed. He wasn't praying to God - God couldn't stop Lex - he  
was praying to Chloe. She was the only hope he had for getting all of  
them out of this alive. As far apart as he and Lex were now, Clark  
still didn't want to kill him.  
  
"If anyone dies, it will be in your name, Clark." Lex turned to the  
laptop beside him and casually tapped at the keys. "Or would you  
rather hide behind Superman? It's become quite the habit lately."  
  
"Don't you get tired of this, Lex?" Clark edged away from the  
kryptonite beam. He could withstand its effects better than when he   
was a teenager, but this stuff was intense. He had never felt this  
weak, it was taking all his strength just to stay on his feet and keep  
talking. "I know why you hate me and blame me for Chloe's death. It's  
the same reason why I hated you and blamed you when I lost Lana. We  
were jealous of the place the other held in the lives of the women we   
loved. Lana respected you, she admired your business sense and Chloe  
loved me as her best friend."  
  
"I know all of this, Clark." Lex looked up. "It's nothing new. What  
is new is the strain of kryptonite I'm using. I've done a lot of   
research over the years on this wonderful little substance you so   
thoughtfully brought to earth with you. I know how it mutates human  
genes and I know exactly how it effects you. Perhaps you should sit   
down, Clark."  
  
"No. You're not listening to me, Lex. I've had enough, it's over."  
Despite his refusal of Lex's suggestion, Clark sat on the edge of a   
desk with a thump when his knees gave out on him. "Why can't you let  
it go? You know it's what Chloe would want."  
  
"I know, but it's gone too far - we've built this feud up to too grand  
a scale to end it with a handshake and a ll forgiven." Lex smiled   
sadly. He faced the bulletin board and studied each photograph  
carefully. It would be the last time he looked at Chloe and wanted to  
savor her. "This isn't just a disagreement between former friends,  
it's been blown to comic book proportions - you're the superhero and   
I am the supervillian - we've got to end this properly."  
  
"So, this is the end then?" Clark glanced at Lois. She had returned   
to working on loosening her bonds. Lex had tied her hands to the desk  
and her feet to the chair using buckle restraints like hospitals used  
on agitated patients. In the time Clark had occupied Lex's attention,  
Lois had managed to almost get one of her hands loose.  
  
Lex hit the 'Enter' key on his laptop. For a moment, nothing happened,  
then the bulletin board started to move. It slid smoothly and   
soundlessly out into the room and then flipped over on hinges before  
disappearing into the wall. A hollowed out cavern about the size of  
a safe in the concrete held a yellow sphere that spun lazily on an   
axis. "I had an idea, what would you get when you mixed green   
kryptonite with red kryptonite? This is the answer." The sphere  
started to speed up until it was just a yellow blur. Glowing slivers   
of yellow fire started at the base of the sphere and threaded their  
way slowly up and down its surface, shooting short beams of kryptonite  
throughout the room. "This particular strain of kryptonite is really   
only effective under a concentrated dose. It will drain you of all   
your superpowers and render you a mere mortal."  
  
"I am mortal," Clark corrected, but Lex wasn't paying any attention to  
him. While Lex remained fascinated by his kryptonite bomb, Clark   
quickly crossed to Lois and risked the green glare of the computer  
monitor in front of her. He struggled a bit, but with a burst of   
strength, he ripped the restraints and pulled Lois away from the toxic  
rays. He almost felt like he was regaining his powers when a blast  
from the cracking sphere hit him and knocked him to his knees. "Lois,  
get out." Clark brushed off Lois' attempts to help him.  
  
"You should listen to him, Lois." Lex turned to them once again. He  
glanced at his watch. "The sphere should break open in about twenty  
seconds and while it will strip Clark of his superpowers, it has a very  
different effect on us ordinary human beings. It's fatal."  
  
"You don't have a handy escape planned, do you, Lex?" Clark pushed   
Lois toward the door with a reassuring nod. Lois glanced between him,  
Lex, and the steadily disintegrating sphere. She backed quickly out of  
the room. Clark was glad to see her leave. In a way, he had known   
from the minute he had walked in here what Lex was planning. He   
wouldn't let it happen. "If you're staying, I'm staying."  
  
Lex smirked in that familiar sardonic twist of his lips. "Friends to  
the bitter end. Superman and Lex Luthor perish together in kryptonite  
meltdown. It's a fabulous headline and it will happen. Once the  
blast strips you of your powers, it will kill you." Lex took two  
strides toward Clark and hauled him up. He dragged him toward the   
door. "I guess it's my turn to save your life, Clark."  
  
"Don't count on it," Clark grunted. He grasped the lapels of Lex's   
suit jacket and heaved him in the direction of the doorway. "We either  
both leave or we both stay." Pain like Clark had never felt before  
sliced through him as the sphere started to crumble and the yellow  
light intensified. Still he struggled to pull Lex out of the room with  
him. At one time in his life he had admired this man - he had wanted  
to be Lex Luthor - and then he had hated him for taking away the two  
girls he had always wanted in his life. That was why he was going to  
stop Lex's suicidal mission - for Lana and Chloe. He would not let  
Lex die, even if it meant his own death.  
  
Continued.... 


	10. The End

The End  
  
It was a beautiful night. The perfect quarter moon shone brightly and  
was surrounded by stars. The crisp night air made little puffs out of  
his breath as he stood by the graves. Dead leaves rustled restlessly  
at his feet until one detached itself from the others and flitted end  
over end until it bumped up against a headstone. Chloe Sullivan  
Luthor. He visited her alone tonight and he would from now on. He  
knelt down without tears. He was beyond grief, beyond hate, beyond  
laughter and joy - all emotion was alien to him. He was empty. Alone.  
  
"I'm sorry, Chloe. I never meant for this to happen. I didn't want  
him to die." He glanced at the newer headstone. Alexander Luthor.  
Returned to His Heart. Finally At Peace. Clark bowed his head. He  
had chosen the inscription based on Lex's last words.  
  
*****  
  
The struggle was silent and seemed to move much more slowly than it  
did. One man was intent on both of them living. The other only wanted  
to die. Lex pushed Clark into the kryptonite beam that blocked the way  
to the door.   
  
"You can reassure Lois that she won't be a candidate for the Wall of  
Weird." Lex broke Clark's hold on him. "There was no kryptonite in  
the computer she sat at. I never wanted to hurt her, I just needed her  
to lure you here."  
  
"Thanks. I'm sure she'll keep that in mind when she's testifying  
against you." Clark clawed at Lex, but couldn't seem to keep his   
grasp. "I always thought you wanted to kill me."  
  
"So did I." Lex grinned. Clark was weakening. It would be over soon.  
He would be with her and Clark would feel responsible for one more  
death. Lex had learned a lot from the books his father had made him  
read as a child. Revenge was an art. Everything he had done to Clark  
by using his Superman alter ego had led up to this - the fall of a   
superhero. Clark would beat himself up for his failure to save his  
former best friend for the rest of his life. Lex knew how Clark's  
mind worked and he knew that the boy had promised Chloe he would save  
the man she had loved, but it wasn't going to happen. A knife slice of  
pain slashed through the back of Lex's knee as a yellow ray crossed   
over him. He stumbled forward into Clark. They both collapsed over a  
desk and crashed into the wall.  
  
"It looks like we're both going to die." Clark leaned his head back   
against the wall. It wasn't so bad - the thought of death - he had   
regrets, but he had done some good things too. Lana popped into his  
mind. He would miss her. Lois too.  
  
"I'm a determined man, Clark, you should know that by now." Shoving  
Clark out into the hall - where the worst that would happen would be  
that he lost his superpowers in the blast - was no longer an option,   
there wasn't enough time. Lex used the last of his resolve to push a  
weakened Clark up against the window. "You really didn't think that I  
would let you go to her first, did you? She's my wife. She's waiting  
for me."  
  
Lex really was going to kill himself. This realization came to Clark  
during the short fall from the window on the second floor to the   
ground. The last thing he thought before his head connected with a   
rock was that he hoped Chloe was waiting for Lex. A bright flash of   
yellow blazed across his retinas and then just blackness as he slid  
into unconsciousness.  
  
*****  
  
A gentle hand on his shoulder brought Clark back to what who he was  
now - a man who visited his friends and family in a graveyard.   
Everyone he loved was dead. His Dad had died a few years back and his  
mother not long after - both of natural causes. Pete had gone to work  
for Lex because he had blamed Clark for Chloe's death as well, but he  
hadn't been able to handle the immorality and corruption. He had  
committed suicide two years after Chloe had died. The only ones left  
were Lois and Lana and Lois was barely talking to him these days. She  
was trying out the 'foreign correspondent' position at the Daily Planet  
since there hadn't been much Superman news of late. Clark still   
couldn't believe that she hadn't written up the biggest story of her  
career, but she had kept his secret. He hadn't seen her in weeks and  
he doubted that she would return even after Superman came back from his  
'vacation.' His powers were slowly returning after the yellow  
kryptonite blast, he obviously hadn't been close enough for the effects  
to be permanent.   
  
"Hi, Lana." Clark turned around and offered a weak smile.  
  
"Hi, Clark." Lana didn't return his smile. Her brow was wrinkled in a  
worried frown, but as always, she was beautiful. "I knew you would be  
here. You and Lex didn't miss a year before and I didn't think you  
would stop now."  
  
"You were here too."  
  
Lana nodded. "I didn't want to intrude."  
  
"You wanted to make sure Lex and I didn't kill each other."  
  
Now Lana did smile - her big, brilliant smile. "That too." She   
glanced at the headstones and her smile turned sad. "I like what you   
had engraved. I think they're together now too. They were so much in  
love."  
  
"Yes, they were." It didn't hurt to admit it. Chloe had loved Lex and  
Lex had loved Chloe. It was too bad he hadn't been able to accept that  
while they were both alive and happy. Clark couldn't help it, he felt  
guilty. He knew that Lex had wanted it this way - for him to wallow in  
guilt and self-flagellation - but he couldn't stop himself from doing   
it.  
  
"Lex didn't want to be saved, Clark." Lana uncannily read his mind.  
"You shouldn't blame yourself forever. You weren't responsible for  
Chloe's accident and you weren't responsible for Lex's crazy vendetta  
against Superman. You couldn't have done anything, you weren't even  
there when he died."  
  
"Yeah. It's just going to take awhile for me to feel it." Clark said  
the words, but he didn't mean it. It had been a year and he was no   
closer to releasing himself from the guilt. Lex had won.  
  
"Don't give up, Clark, you're not alone." Lana took his hand in hers  
and squeezed. "I'm not going to give up on you."  
  
"Thanks, Lana." Clark squeezed her hand back. Her smile was hope. He  
might always feel guilty about how he had hurt Chloe and Lex, but maybe  
he could live with it too. He was going to do this right though - with  
no secrets. "Lana, there's something I have to tell you. It's   
something I should have trusted you with a long time ago."  
  
*****  
  
A dark cloud obscured the moon as Clark Kent and Lana Lang left the  
cemetery.  
  
"Mr. Luthor," the distant voice of a spunky blonde reporter greeted.  
  
The enigmatic bald millionaire turned toward her. "It's Lex," he  
invited with a smile.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Author's Note: I hope that everyone enjoyed this story. It was a very  
different experience for me in writing it. If anyone has any comments,  
reviews, critiques about the style of the story, please let me know, I  
would really appreciate it. Thanks for reading. 


End file.
